TOMATOMETER

Audience Score

Action Jackson Ratings & Reviews Explanation

Action Jackson
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Movie Info

Ex-football player Carl Weathers stars in this violent action film as Detroit policeman Jericho Jackson. The dedicated but brutal cop is plunged into nefarious doings concerning a crooked industrialist (Craig T. Nelson) and his drug-addicted girlfriend (pop-singer Vanity), breaking many people's bones before solving the case. Sharon Stone stands out in a cast of genre veterans including Nicholas Worth, Sonny Landham, and Robert Davi. Heavy on the sex and violence, this film harkens back to the glory days of 1970s blaxploitation, but is a bit too mean-spirited to be as much fun. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

It's cuckoo bananas, crazy. It's entertaining at the same time, because it's so crazy...but it is not a good movie, and I know this might be blasphemy, but Carl Weathers actually lacks a lot of charisma here...

Audience Reviews for Action Jackson

May 22, 2011

I love these 80's henchmen with their black outfits, mullets and inability to shoot straight. Add to that some extremely over the top action sequences and a large piece of wood in the form of Weathers and there you have it, a perfect 80's action film.
This film is your typical tough guy flick with the same kind of action as many many other classic films like 'Lethal Weapon' and 'Red Heat' etc...Funnily enough this film has a few main cast members from the Arnie vehicle 'Predator' with Landham and Duke alongside Weathers. Talking of the cast this film has a mega cast of stars/80's faces...Robert Davi, Thomas F. Wilson, Craig T. Nelson, Sharon Stone, Ed O Ross, Miguel A. Nunez Jr and the ultimate henchman Al Leong. Only guy missing here is Arnie himself.
I gotta admit I never really liked this flick as it just seems like a big action vehicle wannabe and just can't quite compete with the real big boys. I think Weathers is coming off a hot streak of films where he wasn't the main lead so the film didn't rest entirely on his shoulders.
Weathers is a good tough guy, looks good and talks the talk but I just don't think he's got enough swing to hold an entire blockbuster film all on his own. For me he works better with other big names to spar with (no pun intended) eg. 'Rocky' and 'Predator'. The same goes for the main bad guy played by T. Nelson, he's slimy but isn't quite evil or threatening enough.
Overall its a slightly unimpressive outcome but that lively 80's buzz is hard to ignore. Bit of a hit n miss non event action flick in an already flooded genre at the time.

Jericho "Action" Jackson is a Detroit police sergeant who was demoted from lieutenant for almost tearing the arm off of sexually violent sociopath Sean Dellaplane, whose father is Peter Dellaplane, a major car manufacturer. But Dellaplane himself is violent as well. Dellaplane kills his wife Patrice by shooting her. And then he plants her body in Jackson's apartment, framing Jackson. Dellaplane won't miss Patrice very much, because he has a drug-addicted mistress named Sydney Ash. He keeps Sydney hooked with a free supply of heroin. Jackson suspects Dellaplane of masterminding a murder spree against local officials from the auto workers' union. Dellaplane's mission is to gain a political power base and choose the next president of the United States. Because of what happened to Dellaplane's son Sean, Dellaplane has taken a particular dislike to Jackson. Jackson gets Sydney's help in going after Dellaplane.

<i>"Action Jackson... Some say he didn't even have a mother - that some researchers at NASA created him to be the first man to walk on the moon without a space suit. Others say his mother was molested by Bigfoot and, uh, Jackson is their mutant offspring."</i>
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<i>Action Jackson</i> is pure '80s blaxploitation - plenty of savagery, sex and sinew with a predominantly African American cast. The crowd-pleasing meatloaf at the centre of this macho action film is neither Stallone nor Schwarzenegger, but their former sidekick Carl Weathers instead. If you're familiar with the movies of maverick '80s super-producer Joel Silver, you'd have an accurate idea of what to expect from <i>Action Jackson</i>: there are shootings, stabbings, flaming corpses, broken bones, explosions, careening vehicles, and a nourishing dose of humour in the form of snappy one-liners. Fans of '80s action romps are destined to enjoy it.
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Jericho "Action" Jackson (Weathers) is a Detroit police sergeant with an apparent inability to control his actions during heated situations (hence his notorious moniker). Jackson is pitted against esteemed car magnate Peter Dellaplane (Nelson) who's suspected of masterminding a murder spree against local officials from the auto workers' union. In typical action film fashion, Jackson dashes from clue to clue, and is framed for murder. With Dellaplane's mistress Sydney (Vanity) in tow, Jackson sallies forth to prevent an assassination, vindicate himself and bring down Dellaplane, all the while facing plenty of opportunities to live up to his titular nickname.
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One thing's for certain: <i>Action Jackson</i> wastes no time before pumping up the noise levels. Five minutes into the movie, a flaming corpse plummets from a high-rise and smashes through a glass ceiling. Alas, the action subsequently takes a backseat while the film focuses on plot and characters. Unfortunately, the plot is hackneyed and the characterisations remain one-note. Despite clocking at a mere 90 minutes, the film feels unusually bloated since quality action sequences are on the short side. There's a bit too much flab.
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Make no mistake: <i>Action Jackson</i> is a no-brainer action film. It's overflowing with so many genre conventions that it's almost as if the screenwriter had a checklist beside him while penning the script.<br> Utterly useless policemen? Check.<br> Slipshod depiction of police procedures? Check.<br> A few opportunities for the buff hero to remove his shirt and display his impressive physique? Check.<br> Amusing one-liners just prior to the death of a bad guy? Check.<br> The list is endless. This is a strictly by-the-numbers fare. Action movie enthusiasts will be able to predict every beat, and any casual movie-goer will be able to foresee the outcome for any conflict that arises. <i>Action Jackson</i> is also irretrievably unrealistic. The bad guys are unable to shoot straight, characters turn up at the most convenient time, and so on. It's all quite hopeless.
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Gripes notwithstanding, <i>Action Jackson</i> is very enjoyable - it's a straightforward, brainless B-Movie blast of entertainment. One-time stunt maestro Craig R. Baxley's direction lacks the oomph to convincingly propel the movie out of the doldrums, but he gets the job done. As to be expected from a product of the '80s, a lot of the action is clichéd stuff (for instance cars just happen to run into trucks hauling flammable tanks which are just eager to burst into fiery goodness).
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Carl Weathers had a single note to play as Jericho Jackson, and he plays it terrifically with all the necessary charisma. However Weathers lacks presence, and isn't intimidating enough. R&B singer Vanity is passable as Sydney, and she's given a few chances to prove that her singing skills outshine her acting abilities. Unfortunately, the budding romance between Sydney and Jackson feels obligatory and unnatural.<br> Craig T. Nelson is a serviceable villain, though he's nothing remarkable. Sharon Stone also appears for a brief period, and she's there purely to look nice (a job she accomplishes well). There are a bunch of other actors who make cameo appearances, including two of Weathers' <i>Predator</i> co-stars (Bill Duke and Sonny Landham), an '80s James Bond villain (Robert Davi), and two actors who played terrorists in <i>Die Hard</i> (Dennis Hayden and a very recognisable Al Leong).
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<i>Action Jackson</i> is an enjoyable guilty pleasure. It's packed with genuine '80s flair and dubious plot holes, in addition to explosions, stunts and special effects. It's a shame, then, that the film is only ever-so-slightly exciting.